Glossary

Terms you’ll see in the API, dashboard, SDK, and CLI.

Agent — A registered identity (e.g. a bot or MCP server) that authenticates with an agent API key (ocv_...). Agents get a short-lived JWT and call the same REST API as humans, but access is limited by policies. See Register an agent and Agent API overview.

API key (personal) — A 1ck_ key that represents a user. Used as a Bearer token for all API endpoints. Created in the dashboard under API Keys or via the API. Used for CLI, CI/CD, or scripting. See Authentication.

API key (agent) — A one-time ocv_ key returned when you register an agent. The agent exchanges it for a JWT via POST /v1/auth/agent-token. Store it securely; it cannot be retrieved again. Rotate via the dashboard or POST /v1/agents/:id/rotate-key.

DEK (Data Encryption Key) — A random key generated per secret (or per write). Used with AES-256-GCM to encrypt the secret value. The DEK is then wrapped by the vault’s KEK and stored with the ciphertext. See Key hierarchy.

Envelope encryption — The pattern 1claw uses: encrypt the secret with a DEK, then encrypt (wrap) the DEK with a KEK that lives in the HSM. The database only stores ciphertext and the wrapped DEK, so a DB compromise does not expose secrets without HSM access.

Grant — See Policy. In the API and docs, “grant” and “policy” are used interchangeably for the rule that grants a principal access to secret paths.

HSM (Hardware Security Module) — A secure vault for keys. In 1claw, production uses Google Cloud KMS; keys never leave the HSM. Used for KEKs and JWT signing. See HSM architecture.

KEK (Key Encryption Key) — One per vault, stored in the HSM. Used only to wrap and unwrap DEKs when storing or reading secrets. See Key hierarchy.

JWT (JSON Web Token) — The short-lived token returned after login or agent-token exchange. Sent as Authorization: Bearer <token>. Contains claims such as user/agent id, org id, and (for agents) scopes.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) — A protocol that lets AI tools (e.g. Claude, Cursor) call 1claw tools (list secrets, get secret, etc.) over stdio or HTTP. The 1claw MCP server is available at mcp.1claw.xyz or as a local process. See MCP Server.

Path — A slash-separated identifier for a secret inside a vault (e.g. api-keys/stripe, config/prod/db). Used in policies as glob patterns (e.g. **, prod/*). See Secrets model.

Policy — A rule that grants a principal (user or agent) permission to read and/or write secrets in a vault that match a secret path pattern. Policies can have conditions (IP, time window) and an expiry. Created and managed per vault. See Create a policy and Scoped permissions.

Principal — The identity that a policy applies to: a user (by user ID) or an agent (by agent ID). The principal must match the caller for the policy to apply.

Resource limit — A cap on how many vaults, secrets, or agents your organization can have, based on your subscription tier. When you hit the limit, the API returns 403 with type: "resource_limit_exceeded". Upgrade your plan or delete unused resources. See Billing & Usage.

Scope — For agents, the set of path patterns the agent is allowed to access. When the agent has no explicit scopes on its record, scopes are derived from its policies (the policies’ secret_path_pattern values). If there are no policies, the default is ["*"]. Scopes are embedded in the agent’s JWT.

Secret — A named value (e.g. API key, password) stored in a vault at a path. Has a type, optional metadata, optional expiry, and versioning. Values are encrypted at rest; list responses never include values. See Secrets model.

Share — A time-limited, optionally passphrase- and IP-restricted link or grant that lets someone (user, agent, or anyone with the link) access a secret. Created via POST /v1/secrets/:id/share. See Sharing secrets.

Vault — A named container for secrets (e.g. "Production", "CI"). Each vault has its own KEK in the HSM. You create vaults, then store secrets at paths inside them. Access is controlled by policies on the vault. See What is 1claw?.

x402 — A protocol for per-request payment. When your tier’s request quota is exceeded and you’ve chosen x402 as your overage method, the API can return 402 Payment Required with payment details; after payment, you retry the request. See Billing & Usage.

Intents API — A feature that lets agents sign and broadcast on-chain transactions without ever reading the private key. When enabled for an agent, the agent is blocked from reading private_key and ssh_key secrets; it must use the transaction endpoints. See Intents API.